The Time I Fell In Love With You
by btamamura
Summary: Ryou and Tracey tell each other of the moments they'd realised they felt much more than brotherly affection for the other. Forgottenshipping. Shounen-ai. Tracey x Ryou


**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! or the characters. They are the property of their respective creators._

**Notes: **_**Phew, more Forgottenshipping from me! The idea for this one struck as I read some of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga at my local library, one volume including when Bakura and Malik teamed up and Bakura sliced his/Ryou's arm as part of the plan to get closer to Yuugi and friends. **_

_**This fic is Tracey x Ryou, a crossover shounen-ai pairing. If you do not like crossovers, pairings of characters from two different series or romantic pairings of two males, then please leave now. If you like any/all of the above, please enjoy this fic!**_

They lay in each other's arms, following a tender love-making session. Ryou sighed in a content manner.

"Is everything alright?" Tracey asked.

"Yes, everything's fine. I was just thinking of something."

"Care to share?"

"Of course. I was just thinking of the moment I realised I was falling in love with you."

_**"Wow, look at that!" Ryou exclaimed in awe.**_

_**"It's a natural hot spring. Wanna take a dip?"**_

_**"Certainly, my muscles could use it."**_

_**"Some relaxation couldn't hurt, after all."**_

_**They moved to some bushes, separate from each other, and changed into their swimming trunks. They emerged no more than three minutes later and made their way to the hot spring, though not before making sure their belongings were safe. Tracey had put their backpacks into a tree to keep them safe from creatures on the ground, including potential thieves.**_

_**They eased into the water, allowing their bodies to adapt to the temperature. It wasn't too hot, it was the perfect temperature for a relaxing bath. Even so, one must never dive right into hot water without allowing their bodies to get used to it if they wish to gain all the benefits from the water.**_

_**Ryou let out a sigh. "I never thought I'd ever get the chance to relax in one of these again."**_

_**"This isn't your first hot spring?"**_

_**"No, they're rather common tourist locations where I'm from. How about you?"**_

_**"I have had some previous experience, there was one at the hotel on Kumquat Island."**_

_**"Nice?"**_

_**"Very, though we had to make sure not to stay in the water for too long, as Ash learned the hard way." He looked to his friend and noticed a scar on his upper left arm. "Oh my, how did you get that?"**_

_**Ryou looked at the scar. "I'm not sure. One minute, I was fine, the next, I was in great pain and someone was taking me to my friends."**_

_**"So, it happened after you'd blanked out?"**_

_**"Yeah..."**_

_**"I see." He lifted a hand and ran his fingers along it. **_

_**Ryou blushed lightly, but didn't tense in awkwardness; that didn't exist between them. They weren't often the type to exchange physical contact with others, but they'd had no issues with it when it came to each other from the first day they met. "Tracey?"**_

_**"I have a feeling it was that spirit who was responsible for this."**_

_**"The spirit? Of the Sennen Ring?"**_

_**"Yes. You'd told me once before that whenever you blank out, it's usually because the spirit has taken control of your body."**_

_**"That does make sense."**_

_**"How did you get help, exactly?"**_

_**"Someone took me to my friends and Yuugi-kun's grandfather. I later learned his name was Malik, he was trying to get to Yuugi-kun."**_

_**"Then, why did you get hurt?"**_

_**"If it is truly the spirit's fault, then he and Malik must've been working together at that time. I once told you that the spirit was after all of the items, and Malik had the Rod."**_

_**"I get it, they made a deal. He got to Yuugi, and in exchange, your spirit got his item." He spotted more scars along Ryou's chest. "Those ones...they're exactly where each point of the Ring would be..."**_

_**"Yeah, it's the Ring alright. It was the first time the spirit made himself known to me. I wanted to get rid of the Ring at that point, but he'd embedded the points into my chest so I couldn't remove it so easily." He held up his left hand. "And this scar here is from when he possessed my body during the Monster World game."**_

_**"What did he do?"**_

_**"For a time, I was able to gain some control over my body. He didn't like that, so he impaled my hand on one of the sharpest points of Zorc's castle."**_

_**"How could he do all of this to you...?"**_

_**"I wish I knew. He continued calling me **__Yadonushi__**, which means Landlord as well as King's Property. He certainly didn't take care of me very well though..."**_

_**"Definitely not, and the evidence is all there..." He shifted closer and wrapped his arms around Ryou. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that..."**_

_**Ryou returned the embrace. He felt something drip onto his bare shoulder. "Tracey...? Are you crying? Why?"**_

_**"I only wish I was able to protect you during those times...did nobody come to your aid when you needed it?"**_

_**"In two cases, they couldn't. Nobody knew the Ring was embedded into me, and when my hand was impaled, everyone else had their souls trapped in game pieces."**_

_**"I'm so sorry you had to go through that..."**_

_**Ryou smiled gently. "Thank you, Tracey, but please don't cry..." He felt his heart start to flutter as Tracey did cease crying, but continued to hold him, rubbing a hand over the scar on his arm. **__I've never felt anything like that before..._

"Your kindness and strength that you offered to me that day...it means more to me than you know. There were many times I'd look at that scar, and I'd continue to see the blood running down my arm, even though I knew full well that it had healed. But, what you did that day stopped the blood from flowing freely from the healed wound."

"Ryou..."

"My scars no longer fill me with sorrow whenever I look at them, because now I can think of them differently. I can now look at them and remember the day I realised I was falling in love with you." He leaned in close and gave him a tender kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Tracey. You've always been the one to save me. Even when you learned of the Ring, as well as the spirit that dwelled inside, you refused to back away, even after you'd met him. You refused to allow me to distance myself. At first, Yuugi-kun and the others were the same. But, the more experiences with the spirit, the more they treated me with caution, especially since he often took on my appearance and lulled them into a false state of security. Not once did you do that."

"Because I know you. I'd know if it was really you or the spirit."

Ryou nodded. "You've never once questioned me." He snuggled closer into the crook of Tracey's neck. "How about you share the memory of when you first realised you loved me more than a brother?"

"Sure."

_**"I really do wish I could stay, but I am afraid I must return to Domino City, if only for a little while. Something tells me the curtain is about to close concerning the Sennen Items, and it would be better if I was able to dispose of the Ring once and for all. Even though my father gave it to me, I can't live with worry about the next time the spirit will do something to those I care about."**_

_**Tracey nodded in understanding. "I do get it, Bakura. I wish you could stay too. But, this is something that must be done."**_

_**"Thank you for being so understanding." He stepped forward and embraced the slightly older male, feeling the embrace being returned immediately. "I promise that this isn't going to be the last time we see each other. Once I've finished sorting everything out, I will return."**_

_**"Alright then. Until next time, I wish you all the best."**_

_**"Thank you." He pulled back from the embrace. "One more thing though, Trace."**_

_**"Yeah?"**_

_**"We've been friends for a long time now, and yet you still address me by my surname. If you wouldn't mind...would you be able to address me as **__Ryou__** from now on?"**_

_**"I don't mind at all! I'd be happy to address you in such a manner, Ryou!"**_

_**He held himself back from embracing the Watcher again. "Well, this is it. I'd better get going."**_

_**"Okay. See you, Ryou."**_

_**"Bye, Tracey. I love you."**_

_**His heart skipped a beat at those words. It wasn't the first time Ryou had said it to him, so why did it affect him so much at that moment? "I love you too." He watched as Ryou turned and walked towards the gate where he'd be boarding his plane. A feeling of deep sorrow and longing filled his very being as the other male vanished from his sight. "I'll hold you to your promise, Ryou, I'll welcome you back with open arms."**_

"So, it was at that moment, huh?"

"Yeah. We'd been together for so long, so of course parting was gonna be hard. But that day, I felt more like I was going to die if I was to never see you again. That day you returned and greeted me by saying _I'm home, Tracey_, I have to say that it was the best day of my life so far. I had much to tell you, but didn't know what it was, or how I would say it. But then, you confessed to me and I knew that I shouldn't be thinking about how to say my feelings, just express them without words." He ducked his head down and gave Ryou a kiss on top of his head. "I have to tell you that when you moved in to kiss me that first time, my heart was racing even faster than a Rapidash. I was nervous, I was excited...and I wanted that feeling to stay."

Ryou shifted so he and Tracey were eye-to-eye. "I know what you mean. I thought I was going to collapse from the feelings inside me at that moment, but it wouldn't do if it was to happen before I could show you just how much you mean to me."

"I know I keep saying this, but I am glad you're here with me again."

"Me too, and now that everything has been sorted out, I can stay."

"Ryou, I love you so much."

"Me too, Tracey. I love you very much, even more than words can ever describe." He leaned in and allowed his lips to meet with Tracey's.

The kiss they shared was gentle yet passionate. They allowed their tongues to engage in a slow dance with each other and they tenderly stroked each other's backs. The dance had to come to an end though, and they broke the kiss apart slowly, allowing themselves to breathe again. They didn't feel reluctant about it, because they knew that there was a lot more that they could share as they lived their lives together, side by side with the man they loved.

Feelings of fatigue finally overcame them, and so they closed their eyes and fell into a peaceful slumber; still holding onto each other, not wanting to ever let go.__


End file.
